Tale of Days Gone By
by Ciarei Ceryn
Summary: Zeref will never forget the days spent beneath the Tenrou tree...
1. Many years ago

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

"Zeref..."

"Hmm?"

"Promise we'll never leave each other?"

"Of course, Mavis."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

And so, a vow was made by two children that day under the Tenrou tree.


	2. 10 years later

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

_...10 years later..._

"There you are! Where have you been Zeref? I was looking all over for you!"

"Go away, Mavis."

"Wh - What? Why?"

"It doesn't matter, just leave me alone."

A deafening silence ensued.

"No."

"What?" the one named Zeref whirled around to stare at the girl.

"Something's bothering you," Mavis said simply, "What's wrong? You can tell me."

"I - I," he ran his slim hands through his dark hair, trying in vain to find words, "Look," he finally said.

Mavis looked, she took in his disheveled appearance: the dark circles under his coal-black eyes, his worried frown, and the way he gripped his slender hands as if he wished to severe it from his body.

Finally, with a slight gasp, she noticed the deadened landscape; wilted flowers dotted the brown grass and there were no animals in sight.

"Y - Your magic finally manifested," she said hesitantly.

"That's right," Zeref intoned emotionlessly.

"And your aptitude is - "

"Death Magic."

"Death Magic," she mused, "magic that cannot be controlled as long as the mage remembers the value of life. Thought to be a Lost Magic and often referred to as a curse…"

Zeref had heard enough, "I'll be going now," he said quietly. But his departure was abruptly stopped by a pair of arms that flung around his torso, locking him in place.

"You're my best friend," she said into his shoulder, "I don't care what your magic is. Besides, we made a promise, remember?"

"But - "

"No buts," the young girl said with an air of authority that seemed at odds with her small stature, "you forget that I have a powerful magic too, I can take care of myself."

"Thank you," he whispered softly as he turned and relaxed into the blonde mage's embrace.

And so, a boy and a girl fell asleep holding each other that day under the Tenrou tree.


	3. 2 years later

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

_...2 years later..._

"We found it! The fountain of youth!" Mavis exclaimed joyously. Her wavy, blonde locks streamed behind her as she ran to the fountain. Zeref watched as she pranced around in delight and was surprised to find a rare smile gracing his lips.

"Let's each fill a flask," he suggested, "we'll drink it back at the Tenrou tree and then we can spend a day there."

"Just like the old times," she said brightly.

"Yes."

They both set to work immediately.

"Hey Zeref! There's an inscription here!" Mavis cried.

"What does it say?"

"It's written fancily but the gist of it is that the fountain of youth will make you stop aging permanently."

"So we'd become immortal?"

"Well, we could still die, but only if someone else kills you. The inscription also warns that immortality is often more of a curse than a blessing, contrary to most people's assumptions..."

"Are you sure you still want to do this?"

"Of course! After all, no matter what happens, I'll have you! Then we'll really never leave each other, just like we promised!"

And so, time left behind a boy and a girl, stuck forever on the moment they drank the fountain of youth, that day under the Tenrou tree.


	4. 60 years later

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

_...60 years later..._

"You've improved," Mavis said as she munched on a sandwich, "See? I _told_ you we could find another way to control your magic!"

"You mean aside from becoming a cold-blooded killer?" Zeref said wryly.

He remembered the ten seconds of skull-numbing pain that were his only warning before he lost control, and a wave of his Death Magic would kill everything within a thirty metre radius of him. These lapses of control occurred less frequently now, and for that he was grateful.

"I'm going to take a nap," Mavis announced.

"Alright," Zeref said, "sweet dreams."

As she gradually fell asleep beside him, Zeref gazed at her, his best and only friend as well as the one person he cared about in the world.

He saw the way the sunlight caressed her eyelids, the way her golden hair spread like a halo on the soft grass and the way her lips were turned up in a small, content smile. Zeref noticed how her body, forever frozen in its youthful state from 60 years ago, curled slightly around him and closing his eyes, drifted off to sleep with his arms wrapped around her.

When he woke up, the sky was overcast, and the clouds had turned to a menacing grey. _It's going to rain,_ Zeref thought.

He gently shook Mavis' slumbering form.

"Wake up," he said.

"Hmm...?" she replied groggily.

"It's going to - " he cut off abruptly.

"What?" she asked; her vivid, emerald eyes were filled with trust as she gazed up at his strained expression.

"Get away from me," Zeref hissed through his pain, "GO! You have five seconds!"

Alarmed, Mavis leapt up. They have been this situation numerous times before, but never with a five second warning. She ran.

Zeref clutched his head as the sudden pain forced him to his knees. He tried to control the wild, turbulent power inside him as long as he could. In a flash, it was over. His Death Magic lashed out, killing everything within 30 metres of him. The pain subsided.

Mavis was 29 metres away. Without uttering a single sound, Mavis collapsed onto the cold, hard ground.

"Mavis!" Zeref cried as he rushed to her still form.

"Zeref," she breathed, "thank you… for...everything."

"NO!"

And so, a boy forgot the meaning of life as the heavens wept with him over a girl's cold, stiff body that day under the Tenrou tree.


	5. 150 years later

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

The man looked out over the city's ruins. It used to be one of the biggest cities in the land before he came, - before he killed all of them.

"M - my lord?"

"Get out of my sight."

He had many followers; all of them devoted to him, all of them expendable to him. Life was, after all, meaningless.

Sometimes, the man wished he could forget. He didn't want to remember the time before this life, the time filled with sunny days, laughter and a certain blonde mage. He wished the past didn't haunt him; the past should stay in the past, where it belongs.

Turning from the destruction, he gazed into the distance, where an oak tree stood tall amongst a sea of rubble and an ocean of sorrow.

"Why did you break your promise Mavis?" he whispered to the wind.

The man was called the Death Mage, the Cursed Wizard and the Dark Sorcerer. The man was called Zeref.

And so, a man mourned for his lost friend that day, far away from the Tenrou tree.


	6. 400 years later

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

It's been 550 years since he was allowed near the Tenrou tree. Every time he tried, an unseen force seemed to thwart his attempts. However, Zeref felt in his bones that he would be allowed to venture there today. He was right.

The tree had not changed, the only thing other than Zeref himself that have withstood the trials of time. His eyes, however, were fixed on something else entirely.

"I've missed you," Zeref said as he walked hesitantly forward, stopping in front of a slab of marble. The once white and pristine stone had many cracks across its surface, yet another victim to the passage of time.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" he said softly, "Yet I still can't forget you. Sighing, he ran his pale, slender hands through his dark locks.

"I wish I could hate you, but I can't. Even though you broke your promise… it was my fault. You know, sometimes I wonder what would have happened if you left me like I told you to that day. None of this would have happened, and we'd _all_ be six feet under now," Zeref chuckled, "But then again, you never did listen, did you Mavis?"

Casting his eyes to the ground, "I did bad things," he mumbled, "I still do. I've killed and tortured countless people; they call me the evilest mage of all time and… I don't really blame them."

He fell silent, relieving the joy-filled days he had spent with Mavis, from the day they first met to that terrible last day 550 years earlier. If one looked closely, a faint ghost of a gentle, peaceful smile could have been seen, something that hadn't graced his lips in over half a century.

Finally, Zeref let out a long breath, "Thank you for everything," he said, "Although I want to forget - just like the world did - of the past, I truly cherished your company. I know I would never be allowed to come back here again but… it was nice talking to you, Mavis."

Leaning forward, he gently pressed his lips against the marble's cool surface. As he strode away, Zeref swore he heard a youthful, lilting voice in the wind.

"Even if the world will never forgive you, _I_ forgive you, Zeref."

And so, a man visited the only one he cared about for the last time, that day under the Tenrou tree.


	7. Afterwards

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

_Her _name never passed Zeref's lips again, nor did he ever see the Tenrou tree; they belonged to the past, too sacred to be tainted by his present.

Centuries went by, empires rose and fell, wars were fought, feuds began and ended, yet still he remained. He was worshipped by cults, feared by civilians and to all, he seemed timeless, the one constant in the ever-changing world.

But he knew better, and that knowledge gave him peace. For Zeref knew that he, like all living things, will meet his own end, in his own time. And when that day comes, the past will finally be forgotten.


End file.
